A California man was sentenced today in the Eastern District of New York to four years in prison for defrauding American Express of approximately $4.7 million and for laundering the proceeds of his fraud.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between November 2017 and December 2019, Jasminder Singh, 45, of Fremont, used four business entities that he created and controlled and 10 American Express credit cards in those entities’ names to purchase thousands of Apple iPhones. He then sold the iPhones to overseas purchasers for millions of dollars. As part of his scheme, Singh falsely told American Express that he was unable to repay approximately $4.7 million in charges incurred from the purchase of the iPhones, and created fake payment invoices in order to secure additional credit from American Express. Singh then used the proceeds of the scheme to pay for personal expenses and to buy luxury items, including a $1.3 million home and a luxury vehicle.

Singh was ordered to pay $4,651,845.08 in restitution and ordered to forfeit $3,018,602.22.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Patrick J. Campbell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael W. Gibaldi of the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case.